Collins, Dean

Dean Collins was convicted in March 2002 at Kingston-on-Thames Crown Court of robbery and having an imitation firearm at the time of committing robbery.

Mr Collins received a sentence of life imprisonment with a recommendation that a minimum of five years and nine months’ imprisonment be served before release, pursuant to Section 109 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.

In June 2002 the Single Judge dismissed an appeal by Mr Collins. The CCRC received an application for review of Mr Collins’ sentence in February 2003.

Mr Collins had been sentenced to life imprisonment under the “two strikes and you’re out” provisions of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997, re-enacted under the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.

During review, the CCRC considered whether the court would find that Mr Collins was, in principle, entitled to benefit from a change in approach towards mandatory life sentences as a result of the judgment in the case of R v Offen (2001).

The CCRC found that, taking account of the Offen judgment, the Court of Appeal might be prepared to consider factors which in Mr Collins’ previous appeal it had interpreted as falling within the “usual” parameters resulting in a mandatory life sentence.

In particular, in assessing Mr Collins’ record the CCRC concluded that there was no evidence that Mr Collins represented “a risk of significant or unacceptable violent offending” and that, therefore, there was a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would reduce Mr Collins’ sentence from life imprisonment to a determinate sentence.

The CCRC referred the sentence in June 2005.

The Court of Appeal reduced the determinate aspect of the sentence in March 2006 but upheld the life sentence.